Baristart Coffee is a popular coffee kiosk with a distinctive house-shaped facade in central Sapporo, Japan. It’s famous for offering different types of rich, intense Hokkaido milk made into pretty latte art to go with your cuppa. Come January 2, it will soft launch its first overseas franchised outlet in Singapore, at Tras Street in Tanjong Pagar. Other than coffee, the 40-seat cafe will also have savoury bites and Hokkaido milk desserts.

While the original takeaway shop near Odori Park in Sapporo serves about three types of Hokkaido milk for customers to choose from, such as the Tokachi Jersey milk (known for its natural sweetness) and Biei Jersey milk (prized for its rich flavour), the local outlet will serve only one type of Hokkaido milk — the Biei Jersey milk, which is one of the most popular picks with the Japanese cafe’s customers and the most premium of the selection. The milk is air-flown from Hokkaido monthly.

According to Baristart Coffee Singapore’s PR rep, that’s ’cos the local franchisee wanted to focus on “serving the best milk available”, though they are also considering bringing in other types of Hokkaido milk in future.

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How now, brown cow

The Biei Jersey milk comes from brown Jersey cows, a rare breed that makes up less than one per cent of the total cow population in Hokkaido (there’s only 800 of this cattle left). Their milk is rich and creamy, but not as sweet as other types of Hokkaido milk. Due to its high butterfat content, the milk is also often used to make butter and cheese in Japan.

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The barista

Baristart Coffee’s owner-barista, Yuki Takeuchi, will be based in Singapore temporarily to brew coffee and train local baristas for the shop. Yuki is also the two-time champion of the UCC Coffee Masters Latte Art competition in Hokkaido for 2014 and 2016, so expect some mad Instagrammable latte art from him. His cafe name, Baristart, is a portmanteau of ‘barista’ and ‘start’, as he wanted to nurture professional baristas who get their ‘start’ at the cafe.

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The coffee

You can pick from three types of coffee beans here for your cuppa: the Baristart Blend, the single origin Ethiopia Ardi beans and the single origin Kenya Wamuguma beans. An espresso (brewed using a Modbar AV espresso maker from Italian company La Marzocco) goes for $3.50. A cup of Flat White, Latte or Cappuccino with Biei Jersey milk costs $6.70 each. Upsize your coffee for an extra 50 cents. There’s also an Iced Latte with Biei Jersey milk ($7.50).

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Desserts

Other than coffee, there’s an extensive menu of sweet and savoury nosh to go with your java. The desserts are made by a locally-hired Japanese pastry chef. If you like Hokkaido milk, go for the Softcream soft serve ice cream ($6.50) served in a cup or cone. Drool over a selection of ‘Sweets Jars’ such as Biei Jersey milk Custard Pudding, as well as a Baristart Coffee jar with panna cotta, espresso and cream cheese mousse. And parfaits, like a traditional Japanese Anmitsu Parfait with coffee syrup, shiratama mochi, vanilla ice cream and fruits. There’s also an adorable-sounding Hokkaido Shaved Ice dessert in the shape of a bear (the region is well-known for its bears), served with vanilla ice cream and fruits. It comes in five flavours like coffee, milk and green tea. At press time, prices for the food are still being finalised.

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Savoury menu

Hungry for a proper meal? The cafe serves rice bowls with miso soup, including an Obihiro Butadon topped with grilled pork belly and teriyaki sauce. Also intriguing: the Carbonara pasta cooked with Hokkaido milk, bacon and parmesan cheese. For something lighter, there are sandwiches such as Tonkatsu (pork cutlet on soft white bread with worcestershire sauce and mustard butter), Zangi (fried chicken with tartar sauce) and Spicy Maguro (marinated tuna with togarashi mayonnaise).